Kobe to Mexico City flight path
Along the shortest route, the flight from Kobe to Mexico City covers 7,270 miles (11,710 km) — about 13 h 55 min with no wind. It passes over or close to Japan, the United States and Mexico. It crosses the Pacific Ocean: 69% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+9 and land on UTC−6.
Get Modo Avión for Android Share this routeFrom Kobe Airport (UKB) to Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX) · UKB · MEX
- Great-circle distance
- 11,710 km
- Duration, no wind
- 13 h 55 min
- Over water
- 69 %
- Time difference today
- −15 h
The route drawn is the theoretical one — the shortest path on the sphere. The real aircraft follows airways, avoids storms and closed airspace, and rides the wind: it can be hundreds of kilometres off.
What countries do you fly over from Kobe to Mexico City?
- Japan
- United States
- Mexico
- Pacific Ocean
Which side of the plane to sit on to see Popocatépetl
To see Popocatépetl (5,420 m), sit on the left: it lies about 3 km from the route, ≈ 13 h 40 min into the flight.
- Kyoto ≈ 19 min
- Mount Tate (3,015 m) ≈ 35 min
- Sendai ≈ 1 h 00 min
- San Francisco ≈ 10 h 15 min
- San Jose ≈ 10 h 15 min
- San Gorgonio Mountain (3,505 m) ≈ 10 h 55 min
- Popocatépetl (5,420 m) ≈ 13 h 40 min
- Nagoya ≈ 25 min
- Junipero Serra Peak (1,787 m) ≈ 10 h 25 min
- Los Angeles ≈ 10 h 50 min
- Mexicali ≈ 11 h 10 min
- Hermosillo ≈ 11 h 50 min
- Cerro Mohinora (3,348 m) ≈ 12 h 25 min
- León de los Aldama ≈ 13 h 20 min
- Santiago de Querétaro ≈ 13 h 30 min
Left and right facing forward, on the theoretical route. Times are from take-off, with no wind.
Leg by leg
LandWaterCity, with its distance from the routePeakClock change
See the full list, leg by leg
- Take-off from Kobe Airport
- Below: Japan0 km · ≈ 15 min into the flight
- Below: Honshu39 km · ≈ 18 min into the flight
- Kyoto, Japan — on the left, 5 km away65 km · ≈ 19 min into the flight
- Nagoya, Japan — on the right, 44 km away159 km · ≈ 25 min into the flight
- Mount Tate, 3,015 m — on the left, 45 km away305 km · ≈ 35 min into the flight
- Sendai, Japan — on the left, 32 km away645 km · ≈ 1 h 00 min into the flight
- Pacific Ocean — 8,040 km without land663 km · ≈ 1 h 00 min into the flight
- Local time below changes: UTC+9 to UTC−78,620 km · ≈ 10 h 10 min into the flight
- San Francisco, United States — on the left, 44 km away8,670 km · ≈ 10 h 15 min into the flight
- Below: Pacific Coast Ranges8,700 km · ≈ 10 h 15 min into the flight
- Land again8,700 km · ≈ 10 h 15 min into the flight
- San Jose, United States — on the left, 31 km away8,730 km · ≈ 10 h 15 min into the flight
- Junipero Serra Peak, 1,787 m — on the right, 52 km away8,840 km · ≈ 10 h 25 min into the flight
- Below: Central Valley8,980 km · ≈ 10 h 35 min into the flight
- Below: Sierra Nevada9,090 km · ≈ 10 h 40 min into the flight
- Below: Great Basin9,170 km · ≈ 10 h 45 min into the flight
- Los Angeles, United States — on the right, 69 km away9,210 km · ≈ 10 h 50 min into the flight
- San Gorgonio Mountain, 3,505 m — on the left, 15 km away9,310 km · ≈ 10 h 55 min into the flight
- Below: Sonoran Desert9,370 km · ≈ 11 h 00 min into the flight
- Mexicali, Mexico — on the right, 34 km away9,520 km · ≈ 11 h 10 min into the flight
- Hermosillo, Mexico — on the right, 60 km away10,100 km · ≈ 11 h 50 min into the flight
- Below: Sierra Madre Occidental10,150 km · ≈ 11 h 55 min into the flight
- Local time below changes: UTC−7 to UTC−610,300 km · ≈ 12 h 05 min into the flight
- Cerro Mohinora, 3,348 m — on the right, 50 km away10,610 km · ≈ 12 h 25 min into the flight
- Below: Mexican Plateau10,890 km · ≈ 12 h 45 min into the flight
- León de los Aldama, Mexico — on the right, 64 km away11,380 km · ≈ 13 h 20 min into the flight
- Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico — on the right, 10 km away11,520 km · ≈ 13 h 30 min into the flight
- Landing at Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport11,710 km · ≈ 13 h 40 min into the flight
- Popocatépetl, 5,420 m — on the left, 3 km away11,710 km · ≈ 13 h 40 min into the flight
Times assume a typical jet speed, no wind and an on-time departure. Good for orientation, not for your watch.
Which side the sun, sunrise or sunset will be on
Enter the day and take-off time. Your phone does the maths: the sun's position on every leg of the route, relative to the nose of the aircraft.
Sky: light is daytime, amber is sunrise or sunset, dark is night. Left and Right show which side the sun is on for each leg.
Follow the route offline in airplane mode
All of this on board and with no signal: with your phone in airplane mode, Modo Avión shows where you are, what's below and how long is left. GPS still works, because it only listens to satellites.
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Arriving in Mexico City

Flight time and distance
About 13 h 55 min with no wind, including half an hour of taxi, climb and descent. On a long flight the wind aloft can change that by more than an hour, differently each way.
7,270 miles (11,710 km, 6,320 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.
Time zones you cross
| km | Time | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| 0 km | UTC+9 | Tokyo |
| 8,620 km | UTC−7 | Los Angeles |
| 10,300 km | UTC−6 | Chihuahua |
Airspace (FIRs) along the route
Each is a control region: when the aircraft crosses the boundary, the centre talking to the pilot changes. Boundaries are approximate, from the VATSIM data set, not the official ICAO chart.
- Kobe
- Fukuoka
- Tokyo Oceanic
- Anchorage
- Oakland Oceanic
- Oakland
- Los Angeles
- Mexico
FAQ
Where does the plane fly from Kobe to Mexico City?
Along the shortest route, the flight from Kobe to Mexico City covers 7,270 miles (11,710 km) — about 13 h 55 min with no wind. It passes over or close to Japan, the United States and Mexico. It crosses the Pacific Ocean: 69% of the route is over water. Today you leave on UTC+9 and land on UTC−6.
What countries do you fly over from Kobe to Mexico City?
It passes over or close to Japan, the United States and Mexico, and crosses the Pacific Ocean. This is the theoretical route: the aircraft may deviate for wind or closed airspace.
How long is the flight from Kobe to Mexico City?
About 13 h 55 min with no wind, including half an hour of taxi, climb and descent. On a long flight the wind aloft can change that by more than an hour, differently each way.
How far is Kobe from Mexico City by plane?
7,270 miles (11,710 km, 6,320 nautical miles) along the great circle. The real flight covers a little more because it follows airways.
How much of the flight is over water?
69% of the route, about 8,040 km. The longest stretch without land is 8,040 km.
Why doesn't the plane fly in a straight line on the map?
It does fly straight — on a sphere. On a flat map the shortest path looks curved; on the globe on this page it looks like what it is.
Does GPS work in airplane mode?
Yes. GPS is a receiver: it listens to satellites and transmits nothing, so it keeps working in airplane mode. What you won't have is a map unless you downloaded it; Modo Avión carries its own.
More routes
The way back: Mexico City → Kobe
Look up another route
How this was calculated
The route is the great-circle arc between both airports, split into 300 points. At each point a point-in-polygon test runs against 1,102 airspace regions, 418 time zones and 1,338 physical geography regions. Countries are those with a town within 25 km of the route: in empty areas one may be missing. Cities named have over 250,000 people and lie within 110 km.